The invention relates to a control device for a motor vehicle which comprises a supporting arm with an actuation element which is arranged in an area of the free end of the supporting arm, said control device being arranged in the vicinity of a steering wheel of the motor vehicle.
Such control devices are used in contemporary motor vehicles in order to arrange a plurality of actuation elements within the reach of the motor vehicle driver, in particular in an area which can be accessed indirectly or directly by a hand of the motor vehicle driver which is resting on the steering wheel, and thus arranged in the vicinity of the steering wheel. For this purpose, the control devices, which are also referred to as satellites, project outward in each case with the supporting arm extending in a lateral direction between the dashboard and the steering wheel, and usually having an actuation element at its free end.
In the known devices the fact that an increased level of attention is required from the motor vehicle driver to read the shifting position of the actuation elements proves disadvantageous. This is the case in particular if the actuation element has more than two shifting positions. Here, the motor vehicle driver must firstly determine the shifting position of the actuation element at a given time and subsequently take hold of the element, the motor vehicle driver having to direct his attention once more to the position of the actuation element which differs depending on the shifting position. Finally, in most cases the motor vehicle driver must also ensure whether he has also actually set the desired shifting position since the markings or symbols on the switch are often covered by his hand or by the steering wheel during the actuation of the actuation element and therefore cannot be read.
Other control devices are known in which a shifting position display connected to the actuation element is arranged in the dashboard. As a result, the shifting position display lies in the constant field of vision of the motor vehicle driver. It proves to be disadvantageous here that at first it is necessary for the motor vehicle driver to perform an adjustment between the actuation element and the shifting position and thus whenever actuation is performed at first attention must be directed to Lhe display and then to the actuation element and subsequently to the display again. This procedure may have to be repeated until the desired shifting position is reached.
It is a disadvantage in both embodiments that they require a considerable degree of attention from the motor vehicle driver, as a result of which he looks away from the conditions on the road, and in addition an acclimatization phase is necessary for reliable actuation. These disadvantages resulted in such control devices frequently receiving a critical assessment in the past.